The Protectorates
by TheWizWriter
Summary: This story mainly follows the Story quests in Wizard101 but with my own twists, but with that i am proud to present, The Protectorates. (Authors Notes: For anyone who is keeping up with this story please either make an account to see when a chapter is posted, or join the Wizzy Wizard101 Amino for more updates)
1. Chapter 1

In the center of the Spiral is Wizard City, home of Ravenwood School of Magical Art. For as long as history has been recorded, the school has taught young Wizards to use the power of all seven schools of magic; Fire, Ice, Storm, Life, Death, Myth, and Balance. The schools of magic are taught by Ravenwood's esteemed faculty of fully-fledged Wizards. The Headmaster, Merle Ambrose, has been seeking bright minds to fill the classes of Ravenwood. Until one day he found us…

My name, is Anthony Dragonblade, I am from the world of Avalon. My parents are esteemed duelists, and I strive to one day be just like them. Then there was my first friend I made in Wizard City, Robert Winterbane. He said he was from the mortal world, I don't know much about him yet, But I do know about his personality… Needless to say, He's an egghead… That's pretty much all I know.

It was our first day at the school and we were going to meet the headmaster. His office was filled with books stacked up to the ceiling and a few papers scattered about.

"Ah! There you two are. Just in time for enrollment as well!" Ambrose exclaimed, as he motioned us towards another room. In the center of the room was a crystal projecting an image of the spiral itself.

"Whooooaaa… Incredible." Robert said looking at the projection in awe. His eyes lighting up ever so slightly. Ambrose motioned us to a book in a back corner of the room.

"Before I can assign you classes, you must first consult the Book of Secrets!" After both Robert and I completed the tests, I had received the school of Balance and Robert had received the school of Ice.

"I guess since I'm the Ice school, That makes me COOL!" Robert said with a laugh.

"Cool? Since when?" I replied raising an eyebrow.

"I-It was supposed to be a pu- oh shut up…" He replied glaring at me. Ambrose chuckled and said.

"I'm sure you two will get along just fine." As he handed us our complimentary wands and decks and he gave me the key to my dorm room. "Why don't you go get settled in, being away from home for a long time can be difficult." Some time had passed but I finally made it to my dorm, room 201. I opened the door and to my surprise there were two beds and dressers.

"Wha-" I was cut off as Robert entered the room.

"HEEEEEEEYYY ROOOOMIIIEEEE!" He shouted as he dragged his bags behind him, a big smile stretched across his face, "The headmaster said that all the dorms were taken soooo… We're ROOMIES NOW! YAAAAAY!" He yelled.

"Mmmm… Grrrreat…" I said through my teeth "Oh God why…" I thought to myself. There is only so much I can handle of this egghead.

"I know! It IS great! Hey!? Did you know that-" He went on about plants or something, I don't even know wasn't listening... As we were getting settled in, Ambrose had told us about Unicorn Way and how there were undead creatures everywhere. Even though he knew we had just gotten here, I could tell that he had high expectations for us. Within a couple of hours in Unicorn Way we had met Lady Oriel and defeated Rattlebones and it was only our first day!

As we walked back, Robert began making small talk "Heh, I could get used to being called a hero!" He exclaimed proudly as he struck a quick pose.

"Hero? You ran from the first lost soul you saw!" I said feeling as if i did all the work.

"PFFF, N-No! I was just… uhhh… Doing strategic planning! y-yeah..." He replied as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Robert, I don't think you even casted a spell yet! Plus you can do your 'planning' In the dueling circle and not just cheering me on!"

"U-Umm… W-Well… I-I- s-shut up!" He said as he folded his arms and let out a huff, He looked like a pouting child. We returned back to our dorm room and got some rest. That was the end of our first day at Ravenwood...


	2. Chapter 2

So… Today was my first day of actual class at Ravenwood. Though we don't have a classroom per se, we do have a large amount of students in the school of Balance. It kinda surprised me. In the commons, I've heard people speaking poorly of the Balance school. It makes me feel better that i'm not just some outcast. Though there is something that still bothers me… And that's-

"In the mortal world, we have a thing called a 'television' and it's a system where we can watch 'television shows' It's like moving pictures, and it produces sounds along WITH those pictures!" Robert said as he studied for the first quiz of the quarter. He flipped between several different pages in his notebook… He was flipping them so fast that it's a miracle he could even read it.

"Why do you keep telling me these things?! It's not like I can travel to the mortal world anyways!" I said as I was studying as well, And him spewing out random "factoids" wasn't helping me focus…

He put a hand to his chest dramatically. "I cannot BELIEVE you said that, I am OFFENDED!" I just rolled my eyes and kept on studying, trying to make the best out of the situation… And to tell you the truth, I didn't get any sleep last night. ALLLLL NIGHT he stayed up "Studying" for his first quiz, the only thing I could hear was a constant flipping of pages. It's driving me crazy! *Sigh* Either way… I had to get up the next morning and go back to class.

"Rise and Shine Anthony!" He said in an energetic tone, smiling like his usual self.

How is he so energized!? He's been up all night! That doesn't make any sense! "Come on Anthony! We wanna get an early star-" I had to cut him off.

"Robert… IT'S 4:00 AM! LET ME SLEEP!" I yelled, I was at the brink of insanity. JUST GET THE MESSAGE MAN!

"But… HOMEWORK!" He replied, throwing several books into his bag… and some on my bed. I don't know what Ambrose was thinking… So I had to GET up, PUT my robes on, and sit in my "Classroom" until my teacher got there… When have you ever heard of a student getting to class BEFORE the teacher!? Well, before he gets on Campus that is… After the excruciatingly long 3 hours, class had begun we had started working on a basic balance spell; Balance Blade. All of the advanced students began working on casting the spell.

Arthur had began explain the basics of casting the spell, "All you must do is say this simple incantation and merely think of the target you wish to cast it on!" He rose his hand as he began to draw out a casting symbol. Once he spoke the Incantation a balance blade had appeared above him! All of the students around him tried casting the spell, but they failed, maybe they said the incantation wrong. "Ah well… Better luck next time then!" Arthur said trying to lighten the mood. "Anyone else willing to give it a shot?... Anthony! How about you give it a try!" This shocked me at first. If the advanced students couldn't even cast it, how could I, or did Ambrose say something to him? But, either way I walked up to Arthur and muttered the incantation, and to my surprise, I actually casted the spell! The other students either looked in awe, or confusion. "Anthony! You casted the charm! Wonderful!" Arthur was very happy about that, it makes me wonder whether he thought I could or not…

A few hours after class, we had received news from Triton Avenue, Cyclops Lane, and Firecat Alley. Each street had been overrun by different types of creatures, whether it be Undead, Fire Elves, or Trolls and Cyclopes. We began our work on Triton Avenue.

"Hey Robert, legend has it that Triton, the son of Poseidon, actually lives somewhere within these waters!" I said trying to strike a conversation.

Robert gasped in excitement "R-Really!? That's amazing! Think of all the research!" He said as he took out a notebook and began writing in it. What… I'd understand the amazement, but research? It's just a myth! "Oh my god, the amount of research I could do is ENDLESS!" He added as he scribbled on his notebook faster.

"Robert? Um… Is there a problem?"

"What!? Problem!? I don't have a problem… YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!" He yelled as he continued scribbling. Welp… just one of his many "quirks" I guess… "You just don't have as much of an appreciation for research as I do! You uncultured swine!" I… I give up… "Yeah… I thought so…" He said as he began scribbling on another page.

"Robert... Ugh…" I said as I facepalmed "Look, we both know that I have more experience with magic, we can agree on that… Right?"

"No…No we can't…" Maybe, I am treating him a little harshly but… The most experience he has, is in the classroom. I have more field experience and I'm from the spiral, so I'd be more acquainted with magic.

"Look, if you can actually hold your own in a duel I'd say we're on the say level. But, as it stands now, I haven't even see you cast a spell…"

"Fine… You got me there… But TODAY! I WILL cast a spell!" He exclaimed with confidence. I've never seen him like this... This past week he's been nothing but obnoxious, so seeing him react like that… Maybe Ambrose does know what he's doing… In the end, we decided to fight the Kraken…

"BRING IT OOOONNN!" He practically screeched at the top of his lungs. Good lord, what happened to his calm demeanor!? Is this even the same guy!? With one swift motion he cast an ice trap, then he waited. I just lazily walked into the dueling circle and awaited my turn. He looked at me, a serious look in his eyes "Got any traps on you?" That was all he said.

"Nope, don't have any charms." I said looking at my deck.

"Alright then…" He replied, with another swift motion, he cast an ice serpent. The serpent emerged from a snow pile and spat a snowball at the Kraken. The Kraken looked hurt… but not wounded. I casted a spell from my wand, just to get another pip. "Tch! You wanna go!? FINE! WE'LL GO RIGHT NOW!" He yelled as he cast another trap. He muttered under his breath, "When I have enough pips…" The Kraken casted a spell that we haven't seen yet, It was like the sea itself was attacking us. Robert smirked "My turn…" He said as he once again used an ice serpent, when the serpent emerged from the snow this time, he spun around the Kraken, making him fall to his knees. I casted a Scorpion dealing the final blow to the Kraken!

"Ha! We did it Robert!" I exclaimed, happy for our victory.

He walked up to me, a serious and slightly angry look in his eyes, He punched me in the shoulder "Now we're even… Don't EVER doubt my skills AGAIN." Wow, he has a mean punch… for an egghead that is…

On the way back to our dorm I spoke up, breaking the silence. "Hey, Robert...? Sorry for treating you harshly…"

Robert waved his hand nonchalantly "Eh, It's water under the bridge now." He replied, his normal calm demeanor returning to him. "In all honesty, It felt quite exhilarating to duel the Kraken!"

"Well that's great! But… can you keep it down tonight? I have a quiz in the morning and I need my sleep."

"Of course, I've studied enough for now… NOW LET'S GO TO THE LIBRARY!" He yelled as he grabbed my hand and dragged me away. Welp… had to see that coming...


	3. Chapter 3

A few days have passed and school here at Ravenwood is getting better. Robert and I both passed our quizzes with flying colors, and Robert's actually is letting me sleep now… Sometimes… I guess you can call that a baby step… While visiting the library we found out about treasure cards and other "useful" things. So far so good I guess…

This morning I couldn't find my deck anywhere, I looked in every possible place I could have put it, but it was nowhere to be found. "Hey, Robert?" I said while shuffling through my bag.

"Yeah?" He said looking up from a pile of notes on his desk.

"Do you have any idea where my deck would be? I can't find it anywhere."

"Oh, I found this under your bed!" Why was my deck under my bed? Huh… weird. I took my deck and head off for class. As everyone gathered, Arthur walks up from the commons.

"Alright class, pop quiz!" He said while opening his briefcase. "All you must do is cast a balance blade in front of the class!" Almost everyone in the class groaned. "Now, the first one up is… Anthony!" I walked up to him and faced the class. I open my deck box not to find any balance cards… But Ice cards… Well isn't that just perfect? Robert gave me his deck…Oh…Oh no… I slowly put the card in my hand back into the deck, and turned to my professor.

"May I be excused from class? It's for just a sec…" I was the most nervous that I've ever been in my life…

"Um… Su-" I darted off before he could finish his sentence. "-re… And he's gone…" I sprinted off towards my dorm room to see if Robert was still there, and not to my surprise he wasn't… Absolutely wonderful, my day couldn't get ANY better...So I went off to his class and he wasn't there either, Where could he be!? I asked around for a couple minutes and found out that they went to Colossus Boulevard for a class field trip. So, I ran all the way to the shopping district and to the gate of Colossus Boulevard and it was already locked. Wonderful… This is the BEST day ever… The guard at the gate had said that they had already went back to the campus a couple of minutes ago, I went back to the campus and to their classroom and I caught him just before he walked in.

"Robert! Oh my god, finally! Yo-" I was cut off.

"Ah! Anthony! Just the guy i wanted to see, It seems I accidentally swapped our decks… Heh, Oopsie…" He said as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, grinning nervously. Well at least that conundrum is solved. we were about to swap our decks when suddenly, Merle Ambrose appeared out of nowhere and said.

"Anthony! Robert! I need your assistance immediately! We need to discuss something!"

"Bu-" Robert was cut off as we all were teleported to his office.

"Have you two heard of Malistaire?" He asked.

"I've heard of Malistaire being the Death Professor, that's about it…" I said rubbing the back of my neck.

"Malistaire? Hmmm… I've heard something about… Silvia Drake I think?" Robert said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Then you two haven't heard… Malistaire is the one causing all of the chaos in Wizard City. He's been summoning undead to rampage throughout the City…I meant to tell you sooner, but I knew you would be busy with classes…"

"Well… What can we do to help?" Robert asked, more intrigued than nervous.

"You two have already been helping! You've been clearing the streets of Malistaire's minions! But, I believe Malistaire is trying to cause chaos and panic on every street. You must find out what he's up to, for the safety of our school. He has found many allies to do his bidding. I fear he has sinister plans, not only for this world, but for all the others as well."

"Hmm… What do you need us to do?" Robert asked, his eyes closed as he listened intently.

"Someone must be working for Malistaire. I may know who is behind this, but to be certain, I'll need access to the old library archives. Unfortunately, the archive is locked! The key is in the Olde Town Tower. Even worse, the tower is now haunted by horrid ghost named Foulgaze. We need this key. Go, defeat Foulgaze. Then we will be able to uncover who is working for Malistaire!"

After leaving Ambrose's office, we finally made it to the Olde Town tower. The tower was barren, and not to mention freezing cold… A red ghost appeared in the center of the tower and said, "Fools!"

"AHHH!" Robert yelped as he clung to me, shaking violently. I just threw him off of me.

"You dare to defy Foulgaze? As you drift off into the darkness, your last sight will be my face!"

"N-No thank you…" Robert replied as he shakily stood up. A dueling circle appeared in the center of the room, pulling both Robert and I, into it. Shortly after we entered the battle, we realized that we hadn't swapped out decks yet, I looked at Robert.

"Well… This isn't going to end well…" I said, slouching over a little and sighing.

"J-Just roll with it!" He yelled back, taking out my deck and casting a spell… Only for it to fizzle.

"Uhh… I don't know balance spells… Heh."

"And I don't know Ice spells!" I said as i casted an ice trap, Aaaaaand it fizzled. "Great… Seriously, this is the BEST thing that has EVER happened to us… I am just ECSTATIC!"

After a fizzle filled battle, We were miraculously still alive, But barely, Foulgaze was close to being defeated. I looked at Robert and said, "How are we still alive!?"

"I don't know! Just be thankful that we are!" He replied as he casted a scorpion, and of course, IT FIZZLES. "How many times have our spells fizzled?" He asked.

"Couple hundred, Give or take." I replied, sighing.

"I'd say more along the lines of 40…" He said, sighing heavily and slouching over.

"Shut up and let's just get this over with." I said, as i casted a snow serpent, And thank god it hit, dealing the final blow.

Foulgaze began to disappear. Finally we had done it. After he disappeared, A key appeared in his place. I grabbed the key and we returned back to Ambrose. After about 20 minutes of exposition… No seriously, It was 20 minutes. Even Robert, The guy who's obsessed with research, was bored out of his mind. We were told of Nightshade, the person who was helping Malistaire. We went to the Haunted Cave in search of Lord Nightshade… Oh, and we remembered to swap decks this time, Can't have THAT mishap again. We had finally found the Stormdrain tower...

Nightshade began to speak as we entered "Wizards, I'm having visions… I foresee darkness descending upon you… Let me seal your fate." To be honest with you… This guy was really just a push over. The battle lasted at least a minute. We had found a journal and a skeleton key among the things in the tower. We returned the journal to Ambrose and set off to find out what the key was for. After an hour of exploration, We found a door behind the waterfall in the commons. We opened to door to be met with the Death School, The school that Malistaire plunged away so long ago. Inside, We met a hunched over man.

"Hello there, Wizards. My name is Dworgyn. It's been awhile since I've seen any students! Curiously, no one comes to the school anymore, not since Malistaire left…" He said looking over to a portrait of Malistaire…

"I thought the Death School was gone…" Robert said, scratching his head in confusion.

"Gone? what do you mean by gone?" Dworgyn said in a confused tone…

"I thought the Death School was destroyed by Malistaire." Robert replied.

"Malistaire would never do such a thing! Would he?"

"Well… We found the entrance to the school behind the waterfall in the commons."

"So… You're saying the death school fell into Nightside!? Well… that would explain why no-one comes here anymore…"

"Yeah… You might want to get out more often…" I said almost about to walk out the door. But Robert grabbed my collar.

"Don't leave Anthony! We still need to figure out what's happened!" He said a little too loudly… Please don't tell me he wants to do research later…

"Eh? Oh, yes what happened on the day Malistaire left… It was a bright sunny morn-"

"Get to the point!" I said cutting him off.

"Oh… Well, he left that day and I was left in charge of the death school… I remember him saying something about getting his wife back with a book…" Dworgyn said.

"A book…? Did he mention what the book was?" Robert asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he listened.

"I-I don't remember...It was just so long ago…" He replied.

"I see… Well, We have a lead at least." Robert said as he smiled a little, He turned to me "We need to let the Headmaster know." I nodded and we left the death school and went back to the Headmaster report our findings.

"I cannot believe the death school fell into Nightside and survived!" The Headmaster said. "But do keep its location a secret. While you two were exploring I learned of mysterious doing through the journal you found. Malistaire has apparently traveled to the world of Krokotopia to locate the Krokonomicon." Wait… Does that mean we get to go to another world!?


	4. Chapter 4

Headmaster Ambrose told us about the spiral door and gave us a key to Krokotopia. He had told us to go to Bartleby and show him the spiral key. As I approached Bartleby with the spiral key in my hand, A hidden doorway opened up.

I began walking in, But Robert didn't follow, Instead he said "A tree wanting to eat us, Oh joy…That was the last thing I expected to happen..." He seemed very hesitant about entering. I turned around while walking and shrugged. He slowly followed after me.

When we entered, we found ourselves in the spiral chamber. It had really impressive architecture, It was like someone carved out a tree and turned into into a sanctuary… For a door…

"Oh… My...GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Robert screamed at the top of his lungs as he began running around and spouting out random stuff about research or something… I rolled my eyes and walked over to the Spiral door, I inserted the key into it. As I swung open the door I felt a rush of hot air and sand.

"Uhhh… Robert? You might wanna come see this." I called out, looking into what was beyond the door in awe. I already knew Robert was about to EXPLODE into words...

"Huh? Oh r-right." Robert said as he stopped his loud squealing and walked over, and when he looked out the door he reacted exactly as I expected… He reacted by going off on a wild tangent about some random facts about a place called egypt or something.

As we stepped through the door we were greeted what looked like to be a mander. "You two! Over here! You must help us! We have been cursed ever since the one you call 'Malistaire' arrived. Since then, the Tuts have come back to life to crush us under their fists, and us manders are helpless on stopping them! Please, if you truly want to help us, find Sergeant Major Talbot! He should be somewhere in the Oasis."

I looked over at Robert to see what he was thinking, or if he was even paying any attention to the poor man… Surprisingly, He was listening intently... A little TOO intently. It looked like he was about to take his notebook out and write in it at any moment. I grabbed his wrist before he could even reach for it.

"This is no time for research." I said through my teeth, I swear this man makes me wanna rip my hair out.

Robert gave me a weird look, "There's ALWAYS time for research." He replied, yanking his wrist out of my grasp.

"There is no research to be done! These people need our help and your wasting time trying to research things that don't even matter!" I said, looking over at him with a serious look.

"For your information Anthony, I wasn't planning on researching, I was TAKING NOTES." He raised his voice as he proceeded to shove notes into my face. "Y'know, So we don't forget anything!?" We stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Um… Should I leave you two?" The mander said being stuck in between us. Robert turned to the mander.

"O-Oh, Don't worry, This is something that happens a lot…" He said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"If you two are going to be spending a lot of time together, maybe you should find a better way of getting along." The mander said, opening the door out into the Oasis. "Now, find Sergeant Major Talbot!"

Once we walked through the door, we were met with a blast of sand. After the sand had settled, I had noticed that we were basically standing on islands that were in the middle of nowhere. There was even sand falling off of them into the… Sky? Abyss? I don't even know what to call it! While I was awestruck by it, Robert was intrigued. Well, Intrigued and mindblown?

"LOGICALLY THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE! THIS ISLAND IS DEFYING ALL LAWS OF PHYSICS! I THOUGHT GRAVITY WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING THINGS DOWN NOT KEEP THEM UP!" He said, grabbing the attention of all the locals around. Welp, there goes any chance of looking around without gaining too much attention. While he was going off on a tangent, I asked around to see where the Sergeant was, and when I went back back to drag Robert to the center of the oasis, He was still screaming about how this wasn't possible.

"Sergeant Talbot, I am Anthony DragonBlade and this is my acquaintance, Robert Winterbane. We've heard about a man named Malistaire being around this world, and I wanted to know if you happen to know where he might be." I said trying to get as much intel as I could about the situation here in Krokotopia.

"Also, Do you have any museums I can look at?" Robert added. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, to answer your question Anthony. No I haven't heard or seen anything about this man 'Malistaire', but the Royal Excavationary Force has been having some troubles with the Tuts as of late. Professor Winthrop has been needing some extra help. Also, to answer your question Robert, there is a library here in Krokotopia." Robert zoomed off right as Sergeant Talbot mentions the library. Well… I kinda expected that…

The Sergeant showed me direction to monument called the Pyramid of the Sun. The inside of the pyramid looked like a scene out of a movie or something… What? Wizard City has moives! There was sand and stones all over the floor in the central chambers of the pyramid. There was even sand falling from the ceiling all the way down to the lower chambers. A statue, the size of which I have never seen, stood tall in the center of the pyramid. It was holding a staff in one hand and had a weird looking headdress on. A Marylebonian who had grey fur was rubbing charcoal on a piece of paper against an obelisk, near a hole in the wall.

"Excuse me sir, do you happen to know where a man named Professor Winthrop may be?" I said trying to get his attention.

"You're speaking with him boy! What do you need?" The man asked in a thick accent. I had forgotten that Robert was at the library looking for books to "Research".

"My friend and I would like t-" I looked over to see that he was gone. "Um, I'll be right back." I said as I sped off to try and find him, almost falling over a small pile of stone that had came loose from the wall. 

"Watch your step young man!" The professor said on my way out. The library was only a few seconds from the pyramid. It was actually right beside it. I busted into the library and yelled.

"Robert! I need to see you right now!" Robert immediately rushed up to me in an excited manner.

"Hey Anthony! What do ya need? Help with homework!? A history lesson!? Need to borrow my notes!? a-" I put a hand over his mouth the shut him up.

"Robert…Just... shut up for a second." I said calmly. Robert nodded slowly. I removed my hand from his mouth and he kept it shut. "Alright, we need to talk to Professor Winthrop. He's over in the Pyramid of the Sun." Robert didn't say anything… Of course, He took me saying Shut up literally. "Robert! You can talk now!"

"Oh good, I hate staying silent! I'm a very talkative person! I just LOVE talking!" REALLY!? I DIDN'T NOTICE! Calm… Calm… I took a deep breath and calmed down "We really need to see Professor Winthrop, And you KIND OF need to be there!" I explained. Robert gasped and smacked his forehead.

"Oh right! I forgot! We came here for a reason!" He exclaimed... Really… It took you 15 MINUTES, FOR YOU TO REMEMBER THAT!?

We left the library and headed to the pyramid. The professor asked as we entered, "So what did you need to see me for?"

"We're here to help you." I said, trying to make a good impression.

"Well… There is something you could do for me. I need you to make a set of rubbings on a obelisk in the Royal Hall." He said, handing us a sheet of paper and charcoal.

Robert took the paper and charcoal, "Alright, You can count on us!" He exclaimed as he saluted. Why? Just… Why? It's one thing to be an egghead, but it's another to be a dork… I took the paper and charcoal from Robert and put them into my backpack.

"Let's just go before you start freaking out about the architecture." I said, turning over to him… But he wasn't there. 

Robert was freaking out about the architecture. Why am I not surprised?

"OHMYGODTHISARCHITECTURE." He said something completely unintelligible. I just facepalmed. What did I do to deserve this? I know I'm trying to be friendly towards him but… UGHHH, WHY!? It's like trying to get a kid out of a candy store! _sigh_ Whatever… I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away… But that didn't stop him from just babbling on about random stuff that I don't care about.

The dig-site within the Royal Hall was full of sand and scaffolding. In the middle of the dig-site was a large stone obelisk, It was sitting next to the head of a giant Krok. The obelisk had symbols of beetles, hourglasses, and other strange markings.

I took out the paper and charcoal and started rubbing along the obelisk. After I was done, My hands were black, but we got the rubbings Professor Winthrop wanted. As we were leaving the dig-site, We were stopped by a Marlyebonian.

"What are you two doing here? The dig-site is off limits."

"Oh, We were asked by Professor Winthrop to get some rubbings from the obelisk in the dig-site." Robert explained.

"Oh? You were sent by the Professor?" The Marlyebonian asked. We both just nodded in response. "Perhaps you can help us get out of here? The Tuts have been roaming around outside of the dig-site for a day now, We've been stranded here without supplies!"

"Perhaps we could escort you back to The Altar of Kings." As we were escorting the Marlyebonians back to The Altar of Kings, Robert yelled.

"WAIT… THEY'RE DOGS!?" Yeah… They're DOGS, Y'know… CANINES! Surprisingly… No one was fazed by that…

"You have the rubbings and you saved the excavation crew? Incredible! Jolly good show!" He said as he applauded us. "Now, Let me see those rubbings!" Some time had passed while The Professor was looking over the Hieroglyphics. We overheard him exclaiming "Great Scott!" He looked over to us.

"These rubbings say something about the Order of the Fang!"

"The… wha?" Robert asked in confusion.

"The Order of the Fang is an Ancient group of Kroks that created a book called _The Krokonomicon,_ A book full of forbidden magics of both Life and Death, and if I recall correctly, Sergeant Talbot told me that you were looking for a man named Malistaire."

"That's right." Robert replied.

"Malistaire was the Professor of the Death school back in Ravenwood if I am correct."

"Yeah, he 'was'." I said

"He might be somewhere in Krokotopia looking for that book! And this rubbing tell me exactly where it is!" He said with worry on his face.

"That means we just need to find it before he does… Right?" Robert said.

"Precisely young lad! Report this back to Sergeant Major Talbot!" We both nodded and ran off.


	5. Chapter 5

About a day has passed since we discovered _The Order of The Fang._ We've also helped out Professor Winthrop quite a bit. We found the _exact_ location of The Order. Surprisingly, It was in the Krokosphinx, On an entirely different island. Though we have not yet received permission to explore on the island, We were going to ask Sergeant Talbot today. Robert and I haven't been arguing as much, I guess that's a good thing, It means we can focus on the task at hand without getting side-tracked by his constant blathering. I mean, I'm not trying to bash the guy, It's just… He gets side-tracked really really easily…

"S-So… Umm… How has your day been…?" Robert asked as I was opening the door, I just look at him and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Robert… It's 6:00 o'clock… We just woke up… We haven't done ANYTHING today…" I said.

"R-Right… Umm… L-Lovely weather..." He said, I opened the door to our dorm room and… It was POURING down rain. I could even hear some clashes of thunder in the distance.

"Yeah… 'Lovely'…"

Robert chuckled nervously, "Y-Yeah… Uhh… How's your… Bed…?" I looked at him in silence for a good thirty seconds.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" I asked.

"PFFFF, Whaaaaat? N-No… I've done PLENTY of… conversing with others! Totally…"

"Robert… For being a person who likes to talk… You have zero experience with talking to people."

"Well, I- Okay yeah I suck at conversation." He admitted, lowering his head in shame.

"There's no need to be ashamed of it, There are a lot of people who can't hold a conversation, Just… Try to stay quiet today." I told him, patting him on the back.

"Easy for you to say…" He muttered. At this point, I didn't know what to do, so I just walked to the spiral door… Leaving Robert to himself. "H-Huh!? H-Hey wait up!" He exclaimed as he ran after me.

We stepped through the door into Krokotopia and I ran off to find Sergeant Talbot.

"Sir, Professor Winthrop needed us to get permission to access the Krokosphinx in order to find the Order of the Fang. They hold knowledge of where to find a book called _The Krokonomicon._ "

"Oh really? What can this Order do to help other than that book?" The Sergeant asked.

"Well, they would… Know of a way to stop the Tuts! Yeah…" I said, trying to act normal.

"Well then, Their lair must be explored at once!" The Sergeant said handing us a slip of paper. "We had set up ferries to the Krokosphinx before the Kroks attacked. Good thing too, I barely have time to think! Quickly, find this Order!"

We had given the paper the Sergeant gave us to the ferry driver. As we were waiting to cross on this ferry, I decided to make a conversation… Even though Robert's bad at it.

"So… Why don't you tell me a little about yourself… I mean, I think we'll work better together if I know more about you." I said. However, I noticed Robert shifted uncomfortably a little when I mentioned it.

"W-Well… What do you wanna know…?" He asked. Though for some reason, He seemed hesitant about talking, Which is strange cause usually he's so open and positive.

"How about your family?" I asked, Robert immediately tensed up.

"U-Umm… T-There's nothing to talk about!" He yelled as he turned away. Okay... Now I'm curious.

"What's so bad about your family?" That just made him tense up even more.

"N-Nothing! It's just… U-Uhh…" He stopped talking for a second. "F-Fine… I'll tell you…" He sighed in defeat. "Well… My family… Isn't the nicest family… In fact, They were the worst family ever… They hated me…" He began, I simply stayed quiet as I listened.

"T-They… They did unspeakable things to me, that's why I ran away, I wanted to get away from it all… I wanted a new life, this locket around my neck, is the only good thing I got from that family, my mother gave it to me, though she said that she found it in a random box in my room, I have no idea where it came from..." He finished explaining as he touched the locket around his neck. My eyes went wide after he finished.

"Oh, I had no idea… I'm sorry for bringing it up..."

Robert sighed, "It's alright, You couldn't have known."

"Well… We're almost to the Krokosphinx." Maybe that can cheer him up… At least, I hope it does. The ferry had stopped and we stepped onto the sand of this new island. To my surprise, the island was much colder than the oasis, and a cool chill blew from the Krokosphinx, kicking sand up into our faces.

"Don't you think it's a bit chilly?" I asked Robert.

"Nope." Robert replied nonchalantly.

"O-Oh."

"I'm an ice wizard, remember?"

"I know you're an ice wizard, but I didn't think that would make a difference. I mean… Cold is cold..."

"I know cold is cold, And hot is hot, Are we done here?"

"B-But… whatever…"

"Ice wizards have an affinity for cold climates, you should know this. Plus, I like the cold!" I just stayed silent…

Robert stayed silent too… Suddenly it got VERY awkward.

"Umm… Lovely wea-" I cut him off.

"IT'S 60 DEGREES IN A DESERT! I'M WEARING DESERT CLOTHES!" I said, trying to end the conversation.

Robert stayed silent for a moment "So… The weather isn't lovely?" He asked. I just facepalmed

"Robert… I… Ugh, Nevermind, let's just head inside..." I said. I had just given up at this point.

"Someone's cranky…" He muttered. Of course I'm cranky! He was up all night last night! I got ZERO SLEEP!

"Let's just go Robert…" I said, trying to move us forward.

"Alright then, ADVENTURE! HOOOO!" He yelled. I facepalmed again. Just pointing at the Krokosphinx.

"Just go…" Robert began to walk towards the Krokosphinx as something else caught my eye. Some sand was moved aside on the island, revealing stonework. A block of stone was removed making a big hole, There was even a ladder heading down.

I went down the ladder, and inside the first room there was scaffolding and pottery scattered along the wall, and to my surprise, the floor was made out of stone brick and not just sand. As I entered the second room, there were torches burning along the wall, as well as two balance banners hanging from the ceiling. There were desks made out of stone scattered around the room, and there were two chalkboards in front of the room, as well as what seemed to be a professor's desk.

A door opened to the left of one of the chalkboards, and out walked a Krok with a wooden cane and a white beard. He wore a golden necklace with the symbol of the balance school on it, and he seemed to be blind.

The Krok spoke "Welcome stranger, I'm Professor Alhazred. I assume you are looking for the Order of the Fang. if so, you have found it. What brings you here?"

"What's with all the balance stuff?" I asked.

"Ah… Do we have one interested in learning the art of balance?" He replied, stroking his beard.

"Well, actually. I'm a student of balance at Ravenwood." I said.

"If you are truly a student of balance… Show me how to cast a hydra spell…" I awkwardly flailed around with a random card in my hand, and somehow managed to cast a balance blade… Not entirely sure how I did that…

"Hm. You call yourself a student of balance yet you can't even cast a simple hydra spell. Perhaps you need more training." His first comment made me think about something… Wait… Who am I talking too? I remember Mr. Wethersfield speaking about being taught balance in Krokoto-...

Oh… OH… OHHHHHHHHHH! I think a part of me broke after I met him, let's just say… I had no control over myself… After about thirty minutes of me talking about balance with this old Krok, I asked him if he had seen Malistaire.

"No, I have seen no Malistaire, but I know why he sought us, long ago we wrote the Krokonomicon. With the power of life and death, it could spell disaster in the wrong hands. Before I say more, go now and seek Shalek the Wise in the Krokosphinx." I nodded and left.

As I approached the Krokosphinx, Robert ran up to me, he seemed a little peeved…"Where were you!? I've been waiting for like 45 minutes!" He yelled.

"Let's just say… I met the person who made balance magic." I told him.

"Yeah, fantastic, now let's go!" He didn't seem to care too much. I guess I know how Robert feels now. We had met Shalek the Wise, he was an old Krok just like Alhazred. He and Alhazred had stayed awake during the great sleep of the Tuts, but many of the members of the Order of the Fang did not. He told us to search for General Khaba, or his mander Rami. He was inside the Hall of Champions.

"I hope you've come to help! This place is swarming with Tuts!" He said as we approached.

"Alright, just leave it to us!" Robert said with confidence. Where was that when we were in unicorn way!? He legit ran off and hid behind a tree!

"But first, what are you truly here for?" The mander asked. "No one comes into the Krokosphinx without a reason."

I was about to say our reason for coming here, but Robert interrupted me.

"FOR RESEARCH!" He yelled and startled me. I pushed him aside and said.

"We're here searching for General Kahba."

"Yeah… That too…" Robert muttered.

"Well you're not the only one looking for General Kahba! The Tuts are looking for The Order of the Fang too, And I fear that we may be detected! We must slow them down before they find the General, surely powerful wizards like yourselves can take out their minions, the Sphinx Sokkwi."

Further down the Hall of Champions was where the Tuts were stationed. There were only three Sokkwi.

"I guess we gotta take em out." I said.

"Really? I never would've guessed…" Robert said in a sarcastic tone. Geez, what's his problem today!?

So we engaged a duel with the Sokkwi. I was first to go, I casted a balance blade on myself. Robert used a wand attacked, but it barely did anything.

"They're probably resistant to ice spells." I said to Robert.

"Yeah, I can tell now." He replied.

Then it was their turn, they all passed, though. it was my turn again, I had two pips, so I decided to use Scorpion, killing one of the Tuts. Roberts turn came up and he used a Tower Shield on me.

"Thanks." I said to him.

"Don't mention it."

Several turns later the Tuts were defeated. We returned to back Rami and he said "So, General Kahba is safe for now," He said, thinking for a moment. "But, he will only speak to someone carrying the Seal of the Fang. To my horror, the evil Nekhbet captured the Seal before the Great Sleep. You must get it back!." Well, needless to say, for the next few hours we were nothing but errand boys, running between people and MAYBE… if we were lucky… we had to fight some tuts or occasionally a colossus. Once we had done all we could we returned back to General Khaba.

"You two have proven to be valiant warriors, and resourceful one at that. Now for the boldest part of my plan… I need you two to go a forge my blade at the ice forge, which is guarded by Odji Sokkwi. Will you do this?" The General said hoping that we would agree.

"Sir, you have my word. We will help you gain control over the Tuts here in Krokotopia!" I said bowing before him. I nudged at Robert who was looking off into space for some reason.

"H-Huh? O-Oh, Yeah…" He said. Bowing slightly. The General nodded and sent us away silently. At the end of the Hall of Champions was the Ice forge and sure enough it was guarded by Tuts for as far the eye could see, hundreds of… Wait it might have only been maybe like five... But still we were outmatched and outnumbered.

"So, what's the plan smart guy?" I said, looking over at Robert.

"Oh I get it… Just because I'm smart means I have a plan, doesn't it!?" He yelled a little.

"Shhhhhh." I responded. A moment of silence went by. Robert eventually hunched over and sighed.

"Fine… I do have a plan." He said. "Since we're clearly outnumbered, the only solution is to try and sneak by." I threw one of my cards down the corridor we were standing in and hid behind a pillar nearby, pulling Robert along with me. The card went off, casting a scorpion off in the distance which started charging at the Tuts. Most of them began to scramble around for their weapons, which was just what we needed to get by… A distraction… As we walked by, I was almost cut by one of the flailing spears of the Kroks. I tensed up as it cut the robe that I was wearing. I let out a sigh of relief as they still didn't see me. The door to the forge scraped against the floor, making a loud racket. Surprisingly none of the Kroks noticed us even after that, but we weren't scott-free just yet…

"You might have evaded my minions, Wizards. But you will not evade me! Prepare to meet an Icy doom!" Odji yelled across a large circular room.

"Icy? Um… I don't really think that'll work against me…" Robert muttered.

"You!" He said, pointing at Robert. "You will die for the disrespect you have shown to the Leader of the Sokkwi!" A dueling circle appeared in center of the room, dragging both of us onto it. Odji goes first… The Krok casted a Tower shield on himself before doing anything else.

Robert also casted a Tower Shield on himself… "Yeah, I can do that too!" Robert exclaimed... I can already see where this is gonna go. I simply casted a balance blade. The Tuts screamed across the dueling circle.

"I will make a mockery out of you, pitiful wizard!" He said casting an ice blade on himself, focusing his gaze upon Robert. I haven't seen an ice blade before. It appeared to form out of steam and froze into the shape of a charm. You could physically see the air around him grow colder. Robert casted an Ice trap, but I don't really know why… I saw that I had a scorpion in my hand, though I was wanting a locust swarm, it would do the job. Casting the spell, the shield blocked the majority of the damage, leaving the Krok unscaved.

"May the snow swallow you whole!" He said casting a evil snowman at me. As the Ice blade broke, the temperature of the room fell lower and the spell almost froze me in place. I could feel numbness creeping up my legs… Guess I'm not made for the cold... I tried to tell Robert to cast a tower shield on me, but I couldn't even get the words out. I could see my breath as I tried to stutter out a few words.

"R-Rober-" I said, trying to get his attention. He glanced over at me from his hand of cards. He casted an evil snow man as he began to speak.

"What's wrong?" He asked as his cards returned into his deck. Well, for starters, my body temperature is lower than it should be…AND I can practically feel hypothermia setting in…

"D-Do s-something…" I said, shivering the most I ever had in my life.

"Can't. It's your turn." He said. Seven cards are presented in front of me. I discard one and draw out a fairy… luckily… Hopefully this can help… The fairy helped with my shaking but I could still see my breath… As the sigil cycled over to the Krok he seemed surprised that I survived. He… passed? Huh… Strange… Robert and I both attacked, defeating Odji. This battle was the first time that anything has posed a threat… I guess this isn't childsplay anymore...


	6. Chapter 6

Throughout the rest of the day, we helped The Order Of The Fang get back together. We went everywhere around the Krokosphinx helping multiple members of the order. While exploring the Krokosphinx we found out where The Krokonomicon was being held, within the Tomb of Storms. It is under the control of someone by the name of Krokopatra, a member of the tuts...

"Krokopatra? That sounds familiar..." Robert said trying to think where he had heard it from.

"You're probably just remembering things wrong. I mean, we have been doing a lot lately…" I said as we were boarding the Ferry to the Oasis.

"Cleopatra!" He yelled after about 2 minutes of thinking.

"Cleopatra? Who's that?" I asked turning towards him to see his response.

"Cleopatra was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt! She died in 30 BC on August 12th." He explained.

"Um… Okay…" I said, utterly dumbfounded. "I'm not even going to ask!"

"Aww! why not?! I love answering questions! Especially if it has to do with research!" I just rolled my eyes. Can't ask any questions about ANYTHING, unless I want this guy to go off on a tangent... "Come on… You know you wanna ask something…!" He added, poking my shoulder a few times.

"Can we just move on…? We have places to be." I said, walking backwards toward the library, "it's not like the fate of the spiral hangs in the balance…"

"Fine…" He sighed in disappointment as he followed me. Once speaking to the librarian about the location of the Tomb of Storms, I heard a loud thud from behind me, causing me to whip around and see what it was. It didn't surprise me to see that Robert had knocked over a scroll case onto himself.

"Uhh… Heh… Oopsie…" he said from under the scroll case.

"Robert… How did you…?" I said, confused upon the situation.

"Just… don't ask… please…" He looked embarrassed. I cast a scarab spell to help get some leverage on the palm wood scroll case. I reached out my hand after giving Robert enough room to move.

Still embarrassed, he managed to get onto his feet, "T-Thanks…"

"Don't mention it." I said, starting to gather the scrolls off the sand ridden floor. "Once we're done here, I know a way to get into the Tomb of Storms, but it requires us to speak with Major Talbot."

He gasped intensely "A TOMB?!" He said, overly excited. "YES! RESEARCH, HERE I COME!"

"Yeah, sure… Research…" I said, patting him on the shoulder. "Just remember we have a mission there…"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." I'm pretty sure he just completely disregarded what I said… after picking up the scrolls, I started dragging him out with me. Major Talbot told us to look for a mander Hetch Al'dim. Hetch is a Purple mander that seems a bit skittish around strangers. As we approached him he started to look around frantically to see if anyone else was coming…

"H-Hello, wizards! W-What can I do for you?" He asked looking worried about something.

"Well, my friend and I need to get into the Tomb of Storms. It's for official Royal Excavitionary Force Business." I said. In the Krokosphinx we found that the Tuts were everywhere. We had a run it with a mander that was in league with the Tuts. I just had to stay cautious...

"Also, I'm quite interested with-" Robert cleared his throat. "Researching things about this tomb." He was fiddling around with his bag, probably to get a notebook of some kind. Hetch eased up a little.

"Good, I was worried about the tomb… Lately the Kroks have been raising from their sarcophagi and ruining parts of the tomb. With the Tuts awake, I'm sure that they have something to do with it…" Hetch said, he seems completely genuine, I kinda feel bad for him...

"Alright, we'll take care of it as soon as we can! Can't have them ruining the tomb anymore!" Robert seemed overly excited, yet also slightly angry at the same time.

"First, let me open the way to the Island." Hetch walked over to three large obelisks and touched the symbol of a storm on all three. A loud crack of thunder was heard through Krokotopia. In the center of the obelisks was a portal crackling with electricity.

"Woah... " I murmured under my breath. This was the first time that I have ever seen magic like that…

"T-That's incredible!" Robert stood there in awe, his eyes widened in utter shock. I could understand why. With him being from the mortal world, true magic is a rarity… I tapped Robert on the shoulder and motioned to the portal. "O-Oh! R-Right, let's go!" Crossing through the portal was definitely a new experience for Robert and I.

Once we entered the Tomb of Storms, we noticed the walls were lined with empty sarcophagi. Secondly, upon the back wall of the tomb is a giant statue of a Krok sitting on a stone throne, in front of the statue lies a well of souls. We were greeted by the ghost of Krokhotep, which is strange… Wasn't he our enemy...?

"Greetings, again wizards." He said, clanking his Icy cold spear into the ground. "Do not fear the likes of me, I would like to atone for betraying the Order… I was… Blinded by Krokopatra and foolishly gave her the Krokonomicon…"

"Hmm… Where can we find her?" Robert asked, though he still seemed a bit wary.

"She lies hidden among the ancient halls within the Temple of Storms. That statue is the gateway there," He said pointing to the large statue in the back of the tomb. "But there is only one complication. The door was sealed by her minions a few days ago." He began to look frustrated. "If only I could get to her myself!"

"Well," I said getting his attention. "What do we have to do to get the door open?"

"That's what I thought you'd ask!"

For the longest time, we wondered the tomb trying to find cyphers held by leaders of two powerful Krok families. The two cyphers were made to scramble the password to enter the Karanahn Palace. Five hours it took, to find the cyphers. Five hours of battling our way through the Ahnics and the Djeserits families. We were threatened and almost killed by their warriors, but we made it out alive with the cyphers. Better yet, with our magic skills enhanced. The password cyphers opened the way into the palace. Leaving one thing in between us and the Temple of Storms, the four princes that guarded the key. After fighting the Djeserites, we dueled them with ease.

"This is the true Key of Storms." Krokhotep explained as we defeated the last prince. "The key will open the gate. Inside the Temple will be an old Krok. He is only known by the name Gatekeeper. Tell him that you are the ones that I have entrusted, and he shall be your guide."

"Alright, you can count on us!" Robert exclaimed. Krokhotep nods in response.

The door to the Temple of Storms had an engraving of a howling storm, with lightning striking some sort of structure. I inserted the key and pushed it aside. The inside of the temple was dark, and the air was strangely moist. Torches began to light on the walls with a purple flame. The only figure was a Krok holding a cane.

"Krokhotep only allows those who are worthy to enter the inner sanctum. Who are you?" The Krok said with an almost hollow expression.

"We were entrusted by Krokhotep to obtain the Krokonomicon." Robert explained.

"Hm… If you are who you say you are, you wouldn't be opposed to a few… Tests… would you?" He questioned.

I was about to say something, but Robert interrupted me by gasping intensely, "TESTS?!" He yelled in excitement. I checked to see if my ears were still working… They were… Surprisingly, the Gatekeeper was unfazed. 

"Step onto the teleporter to my right to take the Test of Strength. For this test, you must duel the Son of Storms!" He said tapping the ground with his cane. A light appeared at his right as he motioned us forward.

"Oh… THAT type of test…" Robert slumped over and sighed in disappointment. I was getting my deck of cards ready. "let's get this over with…" He sighed again…

"What else did you expect, a math test?" I said mockingly. He stayed silent for a second.

"N-No! M-Maybe… yes…" I just stared blankly at him for a minute before walking into the teleporter. Robert followed in after me. "I wanted math…" he muttered to himself.

The only thing memorable about this duel was a spell named Squall Wyvern. It was summoned out of purple Ice and it would shriek at its target causing damage. After the duel, we were summoned back to the gatekeeper. He looked pleased!

"You have passed the Test of Strength! But, let's see if you'll pass the next test!" He said tapping the stone with his cane once again, conjuring a teleporter. "It is the Test of the Mind."

"Oooo! I'm good at mind tests!" Robert exclaimed. When we stepped in, we saw that the room was filled to the brim with puzzles and riddles. Roberts excited expression quickly changed to that of a sad puppy, he took a book and opened it, only to exclaim. "EXCEPT WHEN THEY'RE RIDDLES!" He yelled as he threw his book down in frustration.

The first riddle was "The light must shine on living things, but those that are not living must stay dark." Immediately he went into intense thinking mode, I walked over to him and asked

"Need any help?" He pushed me away

"N-No! I can do this! I won't lose to this stupid riddle!" He yelled a little, fidgeting slightly. I stood there, dumbfounded for a few seconds, before walking off and working on another riddle.

By the time I got back, he was STILL working on the same riddle. "Um… Are you sure you don't need help?" I asked, worried for his well-being… And sanity.

"N-NO! I GOT THIS!" He screeches, shaking intensely.

"IT'S NOT THAT HARD!" I yelled in response.

"THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK!" Great… it's been only four days and this man's already lost his mind.

"BUT IT'S- Ugh, forget it..." I thought he was supposed to be the smart one!

He kept mumbling stuff like "this riddle won't beat me…" or "I won't lose to this dumb riddle." Seriously?! The answer is right in front of him! There are four pictures of the sun, and only four things described the page were actually living things. I took out a pencil from my bag and marked on the previously unmarked page, drawing four lines from the Sun to the snake, beetle, krok, and locust.

"THERE, BETTER?!" I yelled, dropping the pencil.

"Oh...I…Uhh… I knew that! I was just… Testing you!" I just sighed and shook my head. We were summoned once again to the Gatekeeper.

"Very well. You have both passed the Test of Strength and Mind. Prepare to enter the inner sanctum of the Temple!" He yelled. We were soon whisked away to Krokopatra's Chambers. With a swift motion she turned around to meet us. 

"Who dares enter my Chambers!? Ah, members of the Order of the Fang." She said as if she expected us "No doubt that you've come for the Krokonomican."

"Yes we have!" Robert exclaimed in confidence, smirking a little.

"It shall _never_ fall into your foolish hands! Prepare to be vanquished!" With a wave of her spear she commenced a duel… Both of us were pulled into the dueling circle without any warning.

"Woah! Woah! WOAH! WOAH!" I yelled, being dragged closer to the sigil.

"NONONONONONONONONO! I'M NOT READY FOR-" When Robert reached the circle, he fell flat on his face. The impact was hard enough to knock all the air out of him. The circle flashed to show that we had the first turn. Robert got up, still catching his breath. "T-That… was… unexpected…"

Robert Immediately cast a tower shield on me. I casted a balance blade upon myself. She casted a Storm blade onto herself. Next, Robert casted an ice trap on her. I followed him up with an elemental trap. Krokopatra casted the Kraken spell. As it rose out of the crashing waves, the blade that has been floating idly above her bursts with a loud crack, causing the Kraken to strike at Robert with all its might. Robert winced after the blow, he fell to one knee and tried to pull himself back up.

"Ngh! She's tough…!" He said as he managed to stand up again, and with one swift motion of his wand, he cast the Wyvern spell. The circle began to freeze as a pile of ice appears in the center. The Wyvern pulled himself out of the ice and screeched at Krokopatra, the traps that were on her exploded and covered her in ice. She shook it off quickly. While Robert was showing off his new _useful_ rank 4 spell, I was left with no choice but to cast Locust Swarm spell.

"Hey Anthony? Where's your rank 4 spell?" Robert said with a smug look on his face.

"Oh, so you WANT me to give her an advantage!?" I said, throwing the power play spell card at him.

"Uhh… At least the Locust Swarm looks cool…?"

"Shut it…"

Krokopatra casted Thermic Shield, Protecting her from both Ice and Fire damage. In response, Robert yelled.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He groaned and casted the weakest spell he had to get rid of it, an ice beetle.

I was trying to find a way to stop her from counter-attacking. Thinking on the spot, I casted Black Mantle, a spell which lowers the accuracy of other spells. With the charm set, she fizzled her next attack, buying us time.

"Wait… that worked!?" I said surprised.

"Quit gawking and focus!" Robert scolded me a little. Wait, when did the roles get flipped here?!

Next turn, Robert casted a tower shield on himself. I was far from being ready to attack, but I threw my hat into the ring. I casted another Locust Swarm. Krokopatra fell onto her knees and the dueling circle dissipated. She was defeated!

"Your triumph means nothing… You shall never possess the Krokonomicon! I sealed it away in the Sarcophagus of souls long ago! When the Dark One woke me, imagine his dismay when he found out the sarcophagus was already taken… It was much like the dismay I see on your faces! I hope you enjoy your victory… As hollow as it is…" She said collapsing onto the ground. Her body faded into sand and blown away by a mysterious wind.

"Wait, the Krokonomicon is gone?!" Robert exclaimed in shock.

"Possibly… She might have just been trying to trick us…" I said, I was completely skeptical.

"Hm… Well, let's play it by ear for now…"

After searching around the chambers, our efforts were fruitless, for we did not find the Sarcophagus of Souls. We returned back to Wizard City, hoping to find more information… Sadly, the only place to find such information is…

"THE LIBRARRYYYYYYYY!" Robert yelled, practically dragging me to it.


	7. Chapter 7

About a week had passed, since our duel Krokopatra, but we still haven't found any information on the Sarcophagus of Souls. We asked Mr. Argleston, the librarian, if any news had came up, but to no avail. I decided that I've had enough of scouring the library for awhile. I checked a book out just for me to read… little did I know, Robert had other plans…

Robert burst in through the door, carrying a very thick stack of books… effortlessly. "Ooooohh, MAN I can't wait to pull an all-nighter!" He exclaimed, receiving some strange looks from students passing by. "A hundred and eighty hours of PURE Marylebonian history!"

"W...What…?" I said…

"You heard me! I'm gonna be staying up ALL night reading these!" He squealed a little "The research is endless!"

"Well… Um, I'm going to be reading through this," I said, holding the book up for him to see. "So, try to keep it down… Okay?"

"Sure thing roomie!" He marched to his desk, smiling brightly as he dropped all the books on the floor, sat down in his chair, and grabbed the first of the books. Only 3 hours had passed before I took a break from reading to stretch my legs. I placed a bookmark inside and closed the book, then started to head for the door. Before I left, I noticed that Robert had already read two out of the twenty-seven books.

"Robert… H-How did you…?" I stuttered.

"What? You can't read two books in three hours? Tch. weirdo…" He said. I just turned slowly towards the door. Questioning my own existence… I took a LONG and much needed walk around the campus. I relaxed knowing that, at the time, neither us or Malistaire knew exactly where the Krokonomicon was. I dozed off while resting on a bench near Bartleby. Only to my surprise, to see Robert being escorted out of the Ice School by Professor Cyrus Drake himself!

I mouthed "What did you do!?" to him.

Robert looked at me with a grim look on his face as he mouthed back "I'll explain it later!" Cyrus dragged Robert to his office and slammed the door. Soon after, I returned to the dorm, Itching to find out exactly what Robert did to get himself in trouble with Professor Drake...

Later that day, I heard a knock on the door, I was relieved to see that it was Robert! He was being escorted by a troll holding a large wooden club. As Robert walked inside the troll slammed the door. Which, in turn, knocked a few things off the wall behind Robert.

"So, What happened?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Well… I may have accidentally found something up underneath the School of Ice, and some students saw and told Professor Drake that I was vandalizing…?" He said with a nervous chuckle while cleaning up the mess the troll made. I was about to ask another question, but my mouth only stood agape. I was in utter shock.

"I-I don't know what to ask first… What you found, or who ratted you out to Cyrus…" I said, still in disbelief.

"Well… The good news is it didn't go on my record… Cyrus knew I didn't do anything wrong."

"How come?"

"It's because he knows the students that 'ratted' me out. Let's just say… They aren't the best at behaving."

"You know who snitched on you?"

"Yep, it's Nicholas Frost and Alex Caster, They've been picking on me a lot as of late… Saying things like 'You may be the top of the class, but you're still terrible at casting spells, you're nothing but a bookworm'." He explained glumly.

"What do you mean, you can't cast spells? Aren't you the one who fought in the Arenas of Krokotopia?" I said, trying to cheer him up as much as I could.

"Well… y'see… I don't really cast spells often when I'm in Wizard City…"

"Not even for classes?"

Robert shook his head "No…" He sounded a little ashamed.

"Look, it's better than you bringing an Ice deck to a Balance class… Trust me... No matter how many times I could try to cast a Balance Blade… That is not happening!"

"I thought you said you'd never bring that up again…!"

"I made no such promise…" I said, a smug look on my face.

"O-Okay, Fair enough…"

"So, what did you find?" I said, sitting down on my bed.

"A strange crystal cavern…" Robert said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But, why it's there is what I'm wondering about." It was dead silent for a moment. "A-Anyways, Is there something we can do? I don't have any plans." I was about to mention the history books… But, I had better things in mind.

"Why don't we go out to Unicorn Way? We haven't been there ever since we left Wizard City!" I said, trying to get out of the dormroom for once.

Robert stared at me for a moment "Alright… What are you planning?" He said, folding his arms and raising his eyebrow.

"What? Can't we get out of the dorm every once and awhile?"

"But, why Unicorn Way? That's oddly specific…" I stared blankly at him for a moment, trying to actually think of an answer...

"It's the closest place from here. Plus, who knows who we might run into?" I said, grabbing my backpack.

Robert sighed "Okay… You've convinced me." He said, grabbing his backpack… And a few books. We eventually arrived at Unicorn Way, but before we had arrived, something caught my eye. It was a poster, stuck on a wall near the gate.

The poster was of a great structure, with people within what appeared to be stands. There was a dueling circle covered in fire. The poster said, "The thirteenth Annual Wizard City Duels, registration required at the Unicorn Way Arena! Winning prize; fifty thousand gold!"

"Hey, Robert… Come look at this…" I said, motioning for him to come closer.

"Hm?" Robert walked over and looked, he looked disinterested to say the least. "What about it?" He asked.

"It's something for us to do, I mean… It's not like we have any plans, right?"

"True… But I'm not one to boast… Maybe we could do somethin-" Robert was cut off by a group of two people shoving him to the side. Both of them were sporting the school colors of ice; Light blue and white. One was a tall, lean fellow with blonde hair. The other, was short, and you could barely see his face through the helmet he was wearing.

"Out of the way, bookworm!" One scoffed, walking passed.

"So, a dual, ey?" The other replied, looking at the poster.

Robert looked up and growled a little "Nicholas… Alex…" He muttered.

"What do you want?" The blonde one said. "Wait… You're not thinking about joining the tournament, are you?"

Robert remained silent. They both laughed boisterously. "Oh yeah! I forgot, you don't even have the guts to cast spells in class!"

I could feel something boiling within me… it was hatred. I clenched my fist, trying to stop myself from bursting into a rage. I remained silent, though I wish I had done something before they walked away...

"we're signing up…" Robert muttered.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of my own thoughts.

Robert suddenly grabbed me by the collar and pulled me to him, with fire in his eyes. "WE'RE. SIGNING. UP!" He yelled. This is a side of Robert that rarely ever comes out… I don't know whether to be happy, or afraid…

He suddenly let go of me "Now, go sign us up Anthony!" I nodded and ran with Robert to the arena. The whole thing was made out of sturdy stone bricks, with an overhang that covered all the people within the stands. One side of the overhang was painted blue, while the other side was painted red. There were hundreds of people standing out in front of the gates, socializing. Knowing Robert… He won't have any idea on how to sign up for any duel, so I found the registrar and entered us into the duos barrack.

"Robert, you ready for this?" I asked, once we were called into the arena for our fight.

"As ready as I'll ever be…" He said. At least he had calmed down a little. I handed him a couple treasure cards.

"Here, you'll need these…" I said, pulling them out if my deck. "I've been in a tournament or two… just follow my led..."

I really did hate to admit that… I've always been ashamed of my past. A few years before I left for Ravenwood, I snuck out of my house with my father's deck and signed myself up for a magic tournament… Little did I know, wizards from all around the spiral had came to compete. In my eyes, I thought that I was going to be famous. I thought that I was going to be able to make it far because my heritage. Before I even made it out of the first round, I was completely obliterated. whenever my parents had found out about it I was already knocked unconscious. I want to try and redeem myself for my past mistakes, so I must win this tournament in preparation for my comeback… This isn't even the first tournament that I've entered since we've gotten to Wizard City…

"Thanks." Robert said, taking the treasure cards and putting them in his deck. "Let's do this…" Both of us walked onto center stage as soon as we prepared ourselves. The crowd was roaring and the whole stadium was full! Robert's confidence left him quickly, he looked really nervous.

He slowly leaned in and said "I-I've never had to cast spells in front of s-so many people…"

I punched him in the shoulder and said, "Neither have I, but I'm not letting that stop me!"

"You have more confidence than me… No wonder you're better than I am." I looked at him for a second.

"Why do you need confidence? Did you back down while we were fighting Krokopatra?" I said, trying to change his mindset.

"No, I didn't…"

"Then why back down now? We've only just started!" I said, grabbing my wand out of my backpack. I pointed my wand at Robert, "Trust me… I can't do this without you."

He smiled a little "Thanks… It's reassuring to hear that." The other team entered through the opposite doorway, both of them looked like they've been training for quite some time… To be honest, Robert shouldn't be the one who's nervous… "Well… It's now or never…"

The announcer began to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the thirteenth Annual Wizard City Duels! On this fine afternoon we are glad to present, the first battle of the duos barrack! Representing the red side, we have Anthony Dragonblade, and Robert Winterbane! Representing the blue side, we have Jason Ashthorn, and Kelly Wildstone! Now, without further ado, let the battle commence!"

A dueling circle appeared pulling both sides into their respective places. This is it… This is our moment...


	8. Chapter 8

The sigil in the center of the dueling circle began to spin. It slowed down until the sigil lined up with Robert's symbol. With a wave of his staff, he casted a tower shield on me, he seemed more… Focused than usual. I casted an elemental shield on Robert, so he could have his… mutual benefit… He was lucky that I casted it; one of our opponents was a pyromancer and a skilled one at that! He began the battle with 3 power pips! The pyromancer casted a Fireblade onto himself, letting his teammate fend for her own. She passed her turn and it was back to Robert.

He looked at me. "So, since you're the skilled duelist here, what's your plan?" He asked, laughing nervously

"Attack until we're the last ones standing." I said, cracking open the treasure cards from my deck.

"Huh… Alright." Robert casted an Ice trap on Ashthorn. I followed him up and casted a hex.

Ashthorn gave a little smirk as he waved his staff, casting a spell. The spell card he used erupted into flame as a large red dragon landed in the center of the dueling circle. Upon impact, the ground turned to magma. The drake let out a monstrous roar, breathing fire into the sky. Soon, It focused its gaze down to Robert. Emitting a guttural growl, the drake reared back onto its hind legs. Ashthorn's blade burst into flames, and nothing but smoke remained. With one swift motion, the drake slammed its claws down on top of Robert. The shield I had placed, shattered. While it absorbed most of the damage, Robert didn't look so confident anymore…

"This is bad... Really bad..." Robert said, trying to compose himself again. He didn't attack… he seemed too out of it. This could have been our downfall, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I pulled a treasure card out from my deck. It was a satyr spell! Not to mention the only one I had… I threw the card out into the field. The igneous rocks that covered the arena quickly disappeared, and was soon replaced by a grassy plain. A creature, half goat, and half man pulled out his reed flute and played a little tune, healing Robert's injuries.

"Thought you might need a little pick me up!" I said, "Come on! We have a tournament to win!" I gave Robert a quick smirk and began to focus. For the first time in a long long while, I was truly hyped up for a duel… It felt… Great!

"Thanks!" He said as he began to look at his deck. Ashthorn passed, giving the turn to his partner Wildstone. Her card fell to the ground and covered everything with leaves. A centaur appeared to jump into the circle from nowhere. He drew his bow back, aiming it towards me. He released the string with an audible twang, forcing the arrow forward. As the arrow hit me, everything went black for a moment. When my senses came back, all I could see was bits and pieces of wood all around me… then I got bombarded.

Turn after turn, Robert and I tried our best to hold on long enough to finish one of them off. I had to go through 7 treasure cards to be able to even damage the Life Witch, but eventually, we got her out of the battle with both of us hanging on by a string. Ashthorn was starting to look worried, he didn't have that annoying smug look on this face any longer.

"H-How are we even still standing…?" Robert asked, panting lightly.

"I-I don't know…" I said, looking at the last of the cards in my deck.

It was difficult, but we somehow managed to barely scrape by the first match. The keyword being barely… I had to use all of the cards in my deck, and Robert was down to just his treasure cards. After the fight we received a quick intermission to restock on treasure cards and rest for a bit.

"We barely made it through the first round man… I don't know if I can handle this anymore…!" Robert said, losing confidence relatively quickly.

"We were out-matched Robert. The thing is… We made it through!" I said, looking him in the eyes. "We defeated junior-year students! We're only freshmen. We should be in the second round!"

Robert thought about it for a second, he seemed a bit unsure. But he nodded enthusiastically nonetheless "Thanks, I needed that…" He said with a small smile.

I patted Robert on the back. "I wouldn't be able to finish the tournament without you… I-I mean that on technicality and physically." Robert smiled brightly and slowly inched closer to me, staring at me expectedly and squealing quietly. "Stop." I said. He got up in my face, still waiting excitedly.

"I won't stop until you call me… you-know-what…" He muttered. "You know what I'm talking about… roomieeee."

"Stop…" I said, pushing him away slowly.

"Nope."

"Fine…" I cleared my throat then began to speak in a funny voice. "RoOmiE!" I'm not going to lie, that kinda hurt my throat.

Robert stared at me in silence, before he smiled brightly and hugged me tightly "That's all I wanted to hear you say!" He yelled.

"Uhhhh… Okay."

He eventually let go, "Now, let's do this!" He exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm. Well at least his enthusiasm was back.

I nodded back "Alright!" This was it, onto the second round!

We managed to get through the second round easily, more or less. And now we were at the semi-finals. Our opponents this time were a death and a storm wizard.

As we entered the dueling circle, the arena began to morph and change to that of some sort of rooftop. Robert began to look a little squeamish upon seeing the height we were at. "Urk…! I hate heights…" He muttered.

"Duelists! Welcome to Marleybone!" The announcer exclaimed. "If you look to your left, you can see Wolfminster Abbey! Marleybone's beloved chamber of the spiral door!" To the left of the dueling circle was a church with a rather large stained glass window.

"Marleybone…? Where have I heard that before…" Robert rubbed his chin in thought, humming to himself a little. On the other side of the circle the other two wizards fist bumped, looking super confident. It was their turn first.

I looked over at Robert and noticed that he wasn't paying ANY attention. In fact, he seemed rather deep in thought. Suddenly, he gasped and held up his pointer finger "I know where I've heard that name before! It was-" He was interrupted by the storm wizard casting a spell and basically shocking him with hundreds of volts. He was nearly knocked out of the circle because of it. The tip of his hat was on fire and he coughed up some smoke "Okay… OW!"

I would say it was an epic fight… But it consisted of both of us healing each other, and me attacking…. The WHOLE. BATTLE. at least it wasn't as boring as a 3 hour lecture… At the end of the battle, we had NO cards. Now it was onto the finals, we didn't know who we were up against yet, but I had a sneaking suspicion… 3… 2… 1...

"Sup losers!" Well what do you know! Its Nicholas Frost... I guess he was right on schedule… "So what kind of cheats did you use to get this far?"

Robert turned towards the voice, and it was brief, but I saw slight disgust on his face. "Ah, Nicholas and Alex, How do you do?" He said as he bowed a little. Robert muttered under his breath "Though, I'd like to ask you the same."

"Whatever! It doesn't matter anyways, we're gonna own you in the finals!" Alex exclaimed. Robert chuckled a little.

"Whatever you say, shortie." He said nonchalantly. Waving his hand a little. Wow, I've never seen Robert THIS confident before, but then again I'm always getting surprised by this guy.

"We've been through hell and back to get this far, and let me tell you we're not losing to some stuck-up," I said before getting cut off by Robert.

"Idiotic,"

"Insolent," I added

"Incompetent, pair of absolute HALFWITS that I've ever met!" Robert finished. It looked like he was really close to just punching one of them in the face. Which I would honestly pay to see! Needless to say, the two of them looked absolutely dumbfounded. It looked like Nicholas was trying his hardest to think of a good comeback.

"Uhh-" I cut him off.

"I wouldn't try it… You would just make yourself look even more stupid."

"That's right, unless you wanna seem like a pair of addlepated buffoons." Robert commented. What the heck does that even mean?!

"F-Fine, we'll just have to settle this in the dueling circle!" Nicholas exclaimed. Soon they both left. As soon as they did, Robert slumped over a little.

"This is gonna be hard, I can tell…" And there goes his confidence… Come on man! Anyways, after about thirty or so minutes we were called into the arena. Nicholas and Alex were already inside waiting for us.

"Here we go…" Robert muttered. His grip on his staff tightening. He looked at me with a serious look on his face. "You ready to win this?"

"Huh?" I wasn't paying much attention, I was thinking of a strategy to use in this fight. "Oh, Yeah… I'm ready."

"Are you sure? You don't seem to be very attentive right now." He commented as he cocked a brow in disbelief.

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be! Wait… Did I get more treasure cards?"

"Uhh, I'm pretty sure… Wait, d-did we?! Oh crud, now I'm not sure!" And his confidence has once again left us, for the, what, third time?

The announcer began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen! This is the final round! This round pits the up-and-coming ace duelists Robert Winterbane and Anthony Dragonblade against the previous champions Nicholas Frost and Alex Caster!" W-Wait… Champions!?

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, they won this tournament the last two times, ugh, they never stop bragging about it." Robert said, sighing and shaking his head.

"Well THAT would've been nice information! Maybe you should let me know these things before hand!" I said, probably yelling…

"I-I'm sorry! I was KINDA focused on, y'know, not sucking at the tournament? Besides, I'm willing to bet they didn't win fairly…" Robert looked towards the dueling circle. "Anyways, enough chit-chat, we have a tournament to win!" He clenched his fist a little and gritted his teeth. Surprisingly eager to fight them.

"You have the card I gave you?" He showed it to me and smirked.

"Indeed, it's my trump card."

"If we don't need too, don't use it. Okay?"

"Alright."

We stepped into the dueling circle, ready to overcome all the odds. Nicholas and Alex did the same… Though uneventful, the first few rounds were still intense… They did nothing but buff themselves and use tower shield, and we did the same. Though I was smart enough to cast a sandstorm to remove their shields. When the third turn came around, I had noticed something in the midst of the fight. Nicholas had thrown a treasure card to Alex. I might not be an expert, but I'm pretty sure that's an illegal move!

Robert looked towards me. "You saw that too, right?" He asked before quickly looking back towards them.

"Yeah… I think you were right, Robert…" I said pulling a card from my deck.

"Well, all we gotta do is beat them and show how true duelists play!" He slammed his fist into his palm. Though I already had a tower shield placed on me, I casted a elemental shield to protect myself further. I also thought that I would have the time to place one on Robert, but Alex had attacked before I had the chance. He threw out a treasure card, and the center of the dueling circle began to turn into frozen and mountainous terrain. From the clouds of the mountains, a giant appeared. He swung his icy hammer in the air until he brought it down onto Robert and I, freezing us both immediately. Because we were not able to take our turns the duel continued, but in the favor of the other team. Nicholas targeted me with another spell, an Ice Wyvern. I was knocked out…

\- Robert's Perspective -

I unfroze from my icy prison, shivering heavily from the sheer coldness of it. _Okay, I may be an ice wizard, but that was SO. FREAKING. COLD._ I thought. I looked over to Anthony; or, where he should be… I looked behind me and saw Anthony several feet away, unconscious.

"Anthony!" I felt a rage build up in me, not because he was knocked out, but because he was knocked out by THOSE idiots! I looked towards Nicholas and Alex, I wanted to just wipe the smug looks on their faces.

The dial turned to me, indicating my turn, time seemed to move slowly. I slowly took out the card that Anthony had given me; A Wooly Mammoth. He had previously casted one blade on me, and I put some traps on them. I took a deep breath and threw the card on the circle and drew the symbol. When I finally drew the symbol though, I felt a gust of wind around my feet and my robes flapping about, it was so strong that it pushed my hood down as well. I couldn't explain it, but… I felt stronger… I heard the shatter of my blade, and the shattering of the traps placed on Alex and Nicholas.

At first, it reminded me of Evil Snowman, but that quickly changed. The snowman rose from the dueling circle and raised it's knife. As it did that, a herd of Wooly Mammoths ran from the left and trampled the snowman. One of the Mammoths swung it's tusk horizontally across the dueling circle. Knocking both Nicholas and Alex out of their sigils. As the spell ended, I fell to my knees, feeling really exhausted from the fight. _W-We did it…_ I thought. Though I was snapped back into reality by the sound of the crowd practically erupting into cheers. The announcer began to speak.

"What a magnificent duel! The two time champs have been defeated! With that folks, this concludes this years tournament!"

It was finally over… I slowly got back to my feet and went towards Anthony and shoved him a little. "Anthony, wake up." Nothing… I stood up and kicked his shoulder "Hey! Wake up man!"

"Ow... What the…" He said, looking around at everything. Thank goodness he didn't die...

"Dude! We won!" I exclaimed, slowly helping him to his feet.

"We.. We what?! I thought that they would've attacked you too!" He said, picking up all his cards that were on the ground.

"Well, I'm not sure why, but that doesn't matter right now! What matters is we won the tournament, and we got to show Nicholas and Alex who the real duelists are!" I've never felt this proud of myself before, it was… Nice. "Just, try not to get knocked out like that again, you had me really worried."

"Well it's not like I could really help it… I got ganged up on!"

I just chuckled "Still, I'm just glad you're alright… I… I couldn't have done this without you, so, thanks." I then grabbed him and pulled him into a rather tight hug. When I pulled out and looked at his expression, He was expressing… Confusion…? Bewilderment...? I dunno. "Now, let's go, we have a trophy to accept!"


End file.
